Saturday, July 18, 2009

Simply Gorgeous Baby!

What a site for sore eyes!! Our chickens arrived this morning! Can I hear a yeah? Finally, I don't have to cringe every time I go to collect eggs from the chicken coop. Finally, I can be proud of our poultry. Finally, I can enjoy our birds like you are supposed to. Ahhhhh. All the birds with feathers on their rears.

Except for Mr. D. He still has work to do in the tailoring department. But photos are all about angles and this one suits him.


Mr. D was happily occupied getting acquainted with the new hens. So many women, so little time. He wanted them all to himself, but he had two rather large barred-rock roosters with which he battled before he could claim the title of supreme chicken ruler.


Thank goodness, they (the barred-rocks) had nothing to match his ninja martial arts moves. Lightening fast Mr. D subdued the new arrivals convincing everybody he was the top chicken on the block. (Or rather to miss the chopping block...)


And these lovely ladies were his prize. These are the white leghorns...


And the buff Orphingtons...


And here's the fully feathered crew huddled in the corner of their penitentiary. Note: Mr. D is in the middle of the flock. I think he is really happy to have some friends. For about three days after the elimination of the other flock he ran like hell when anybody came near the chicken pen. Can you say flash back..... "No don't catch me. No I'll stop spurring you. Really, I'll be good."


Cousin Luke was happy to see new birds too. He was cradling this hen like his long lost baby. I think the kids will get this group of hens tamed pretty quickly. They are much more docile then the skittish feather eating Danish Leghorns we got rid of.

The replacement crew consists of 2 white leghorns, 2 barred-rock hens, 2 barred-rock roosters, 4 buff Orphington hens, and 1 Rhode Island hen. They are about six months old and are making four eggs a day. In a few months they'll get into full production mode.

And I am going on a secret mission today to get a few more special hens to round out the crew. Photos later...

Then there was something still in one of the carrying crates...

Hmmmm what could it be? Trust Mike to figure out how to remove the newest member of the flock.

Never mind the pink abomination in the background. That's just a girl who thinks ballerinas can be six feet tall.


Come on now. Easy does it. You can make it.


Voila!!!

Isn't she just gorgeous!
Now, I am hearing Steve Irwin in my head talking about his beastly looking crocodiles at the Australia zoo. But this is one sexy turkey!


Our hen turkey put on a little display for a few minutes in her new surroundings. She had me thinking she was a he, but apparently female turkeys will strut under stressful conditions when they want intimidate and show they are "big" too.


We are on the hunt for a Tom turkey, so she won't get all chicken brained with the wacky feathered rats scurrying around her feet. After all she needs some appropriate male company too.

19 comments:

brokenteepee said...

Aren't all those feathers just gorgeous?!

And a turkey...planning ahead for Thanksgiving?

Julia said...

Hi Pricilla,

I love the new birds!! And this hen and the future tom are NOT for eating. Just pets. :)

Anonymous said...

Awww! I love your new additions! And how pathetic is it that I saw in my dashboard that you got your new chickens and I got excited?

Love the pink tutu. No outfit is complete without it.

Love that Mr. D has friends and that they are accepting him and his bald a$$ into their society. What if humans lived by the same ethics as chickens? Would the world be a happier place? No, probably not, because there would always be that one rebel ninja.

sassy stephanie said...

I'm loving this post! We were talking just this week about getting a turkey! Only a pesky hawk has been snatching our hens. Gotta get that worked out first!

MsSnarkyPants said...

They are lovely!!! Your turkey is my favorite! We had lots of turkeys when I was a kid. They have really wonderful temperaments with their "families," and they make fabulous watch birds. Ours cornered a poor unsuspecting UPS man on the porch swing cause they wanted his buttons. hehehehe Dang, now I think we need some turkeys! hehehe

Liz Mays said...

They really are quite pretty! I'd forgotten how they could look with all the plumage intact. :)

Rick (Ratty) said...

I wonder what the rooster thinks of this turkey.

Olde Dame Penniwig said...

Dearie, I'm afraid to ask...but is the turkey a pet??? Or...destined for some OTHER fate??? You got her for eggs, right? Big yummy turkey eggs? Let this be yr motto: EGGS, not LEGS.

Mighty pretty new flock ye have there!

Julia said...

Ratty-Mr. D tried to herd the turkey but it just did not work out. I think he was just satisfied he did not have to fight him.

ODP-The turkey is ornamental. Purely a pet. We shall not be eating her! Thank goodness. :)

Will Scarvie said...

Well, Julia, you asked, so....YEAH!

What beautiful birds. I especially like the buffs for some reason. Elegant.

Looking forward to seeing the "secret mission" poultry!

theUngourmet said...

They are all gorgeous! We had a Rhode Island Red when I was a kid. We adored her, so much personality!

I guess she is pretty nice looking as turkeys go.

Suzi said...

Woo Hoo! The new birds are beautiful. I love them. The 4 we added yesterday will round them out nicely. Can't wait to start collecting eggs again....starting to run low.

Kritter Keeper at Farm Tails said...

ahhh, i want some!!! yes i am whining and i am jealous!!! and, i am glad you are not eating the turkeys...you sound like me!!! i have no clue why the husband won't let me have chickens...he thinks they are 'dirty'...i am very glad you are getting her a mate so she won't be lonely. you are a good farm 'mama'! : )

Vixen said...

Those are some seriously good looking chickens. Much better looking than the ones you had when we were there! And a turkey too! That is terrific. We will have to plan another visit soon, as Kayla can't stop talking about you and your "farm". On the drive home every time we stopped near horses or a field she said "Oh, good you found the farm again. Let's go." It was hard to explain to her that we weren't at your place.

Thanks for a great time, we enjoyed ourselves. Also, what was that tea you made? I keep getting requests for the recipe from my dad and Mike.

Hugs to you, the kids and the new feathered beasts!

PS: I can't find anything wrong with a 6ft ballerina.

xashee's corner said...

sure happy to read that your new hen turkey is a pet!! hehe i LOVE all your new chickens!! how COOL!!! do they ALL produce white eggs or do some of them make those brown eggs! just wondering! :) Thank you so much for sharing the smiles today!!! Have a SUPER day!!

Anonymous said...

That's cool. The chickens look good. So is it wrong of me to ask what you are going to do with the turkey? Is it for meat, or what? I don't know what else to do with a turkey other then eat it.
Hope your computer gets up and working soon!

Sara said...

I love the ballerina!!! The chickens were pretty cool too. I was waiting for the turkey, though. Knew if he was anything like my guys, the turkey was coming home.

LifeRamblings said...

those are gorgeous birds and you got very nice shots of them.

Sharkbytes (TM) said...

Watcha gonna do with all those eggs? Do you use that many, or will you sell some? Quite a flock.

The Day the Swallows Came Home

The tree swallows are here already.  They arrived January 30 much to my dismay.  Swooping and calling and chirping their merry song over my ...